Fencing Facts

Traditionally, fencing has been an amateur sport. Uniforms have always been white, combats are judged in French and decorum has usually carried the day.

There are 12,000 amateur fencers registered with the United States Fencing Association, the sport’s national governing body. Membership has increased dramatically over the past decade, USFA officials said.

However, gains on the international level have been slow. The United States never has won gold at the Olympic Games, and the last medal won was Peter Westbrook’s bronze in 1984. Only in the past few years have American fencers, both men and women, made their mark internationally.

While the U.S. government does not finance its Olympic teams, other nations--notably France, Italy, and the former Soviet Union--fund their teams well, which opponents say makes them “professional amateurs.”